Hi, we used www.1stcontact.co.uk there were excellent and at the time we applied they offered a "No visa no fee" service. It might be worth a call to see if they still offer the same, Good luck.

Thank you all very much for your replies. You have all been really helpful! at least we have some idea now and it's a starting point to think about. My best friend moved to Perth 5 years ago and i miss her so much and it would be lovely to be neighbours again on the other side of the world. I guess we are going to have to weigh up the pros and cons of Florida and Oz and see how easy it would be for hubby to get work out in Austalia.
Thanks again you lovely people

FWIW I think you would be very disappointed if you left a secure job in Fl and moved to Australia. The novelty might appeal for a while, but you would have to get used to limited choices, lower standards, general "she'll be right" mentality etc.

We had a home in Fl for 12 years and would have stayed there if we were able to get permanent US visas.

Thanks for your comments. Yes the visas are tough in the states, i have friends landlocked and id worry we'd get settled and then not be approved for renewel. Also on the type of visa we'd get i would not be able to work...7 years is a long time! as you know it's 7 years before you can get citizenship....(if everything goes ok in the first place.) the reports on schools in Fl arent very good, and crime is high, my friends house insurance is $8,000pa. I do love it there however and my aunt lives in west palm beach. Can i ask for your comparissons of Fl to Oz please as this is a really big decission for us especialy with having kids....thanks in advance! ps how long have you been in Oz?

We were in Bonita Springs on the Gulf (Golf?) Coast: crime there was almost non-existent compared with our country village in the UK. I think the Atlantic coast is a whole different experience! As is the Orlando sort of thing, which is what most visitors see as Florida.

Living in the States is very easy compared with Australia: everything you need or want is available in whatever size/colour/quantity/finish you desire. It's the ultimate consumer society and none the worse for that.

In Australia it can be a long hard hassle getting anything out of the bog-standard ordinary - just try building a house! You will find yourself driving hundreds of miles a day merely trying to get the most mundane items. Things are changed after you've ordered, become unavailable after you have paid for them, government rules change over the weekend at a whim. You are not even allowed to put up a ceiling fan without paying an electrician to join up the wires! One guy last week in a hardware shop had no idea which wire in a socket was the live one - it's the nanny state gone bonkers.

I like living here - have more friends in two years than I did in 20 in our UK home - but if I had the choice I would stay in Fl.

Now *that's* making you think!

A lady called Sue from Ian Harrop and Associates. She was fantastic.

ianharrop.co.uk

JO

ours cost 1600 pounds all up with no agent. was 6 six years ago though.

We used visa bureau in London- agents fees prob in the region of
£4500. Think this was worth it as the paperwork looked like a total nightmare (136 visa-nurse), so we felt it would be money well spent.
Medicals cost £570 for the four of us- including chest xrays.
Police checks £20 each
40 foot container £5000
Just need the visa now!!! Should be through by end of March